Gomez concedes US Senate special election but wins Cohasset

Despite only five months of campaigning, Republican businessman Gomez, 47, who lives a few feet away from Cohasset’s Town Hall, faced off against veteran Democratic Congressman Edward J. Markey. In his first political race, Gomez managed to secure 46 percent of the vote.“Nobody knew who I was outside...

Gabriel Gomez might have lost the special Senate election tonight, but he managed to win over his hometown.

Despite only five months of campaigning, Republican businessman Gomez, 47, who lives a few feet away from Cohasset’s Town Hall, faced off against veteran Democratic Congressman Edward J. Markey. In his first political race, Gomez managed to secure 46 percent of the vote. The contest was to fill John Kerry's Senate term, which expires in 2015.

“We were up literally against the whole Democratic party,” Gomez said in his concession speech at the Seaport Hotel in Boston. “In the face of this adversity, we couldn’t have fought a better fight, and I’m proud of what we did.”

The election was called at 9:15 p.m. with 90 percent of precincts reporting; Markey won 54 percent of the vote. Gomez said in his speech that he proved wrong those who said that a Republican would not stand a chance against a Democrat in Massachusetts.

Cohasset had a 48 percent voter turnout and swung Republican, with 1,780 voters choosing Gomez and 1,029 picking Markey. This was a significant increase over the Senate primary turnout in Cohasset, which saw only 1,773 of Cohasset’s 5,839 eligible voters casting their ballots. In today’s election, 2,822 of the town’s 5,872 eligible voters lined up at the polls.

Gomez gave a nod to his town during his concession speech.

“Throughout this campaign I was humbled by thousands of people I’ve met,” said Gomez. “We can be proud of we accomplished, literally starting from scratch five months ago.

“Nobody knew who I was outside of Cohasset, a couple of Little League baseball teams, and the amazing people I work with,” the now former Senate candidate continued. “But look at us now.”

Look for more on the election, including precinct-by-precinct results, in this week’s print edition of the Mariner.